Asia Cup T20 2016 – Bangladesh Player Ratings

Not many expected the hosts, Bangladesh, to make it to the finals of the Asia Cup 2016. While there were theories being circulated about a possible India-Pakistan final, Bangladesh put on a spectacular effort to get past Pakistan and meet India in the finale. Though they couldn’t lift the trophy, they certainly did impress as a unit. With wins over UAE, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, they have put forth a good trailer of what they could do in the upcoming ICC World T20 in India. Bangladesh, as a team, performed well; but how did the players fare up individually? Here are the ratings for the Bangladesh team in the Asia Cup T20.

Soumya Sarkar – 6/10

The left-handed opener got good starts on a few occasions but couldn’t convert it to a big one. Having played in all 5 matches, he could score just 94 runs at an average of 18.80. He got starts against India in the opening encounter and against the UAE but got out on a duck against Sri Lanka. His best effort was against Pakistan when he scored a run-a-ball 48 to help Bangladesh overhaul the target of 129 set by Pakistan. His inconsistency definitely hurt Bangladesh and he gets a rating of 6.

Mohammad Mithun – 4/10

Mohammad Mithun showed great promise when he hit 41-balll 47 against UAE. But apart from that, he could not contribute much as an opener. He got out for a golden duck against Sri Lanka and had miserably failed to impress against India in the opening match, scoring just 1 run. He was then replaced by Tamim Iqbal for the match against Pakistan and the finals. Mithun had his share of opportunity to shine, but lack of technique made him vulnerable against seaming deliveries. He gets 4 on 10.

Tamim Iqbal – 3/10

Bangladesh’s most prolific opener Tamim Iqbal returned to the side in the must-win match against Pakistan. He kickstarted with a brilliant 6 but then was soon dismissed for just 7 in the match. His stay at the crease wasn’t pleasant in the finals either as he took 17 balls to score 13 runs. Being the senior player in the side, he should have played with more responsibility, which he didn’t and no wonder the Bangladesh team certainly felt the pain of it. He gets just 3 on the rating card.

Sabbir Rahman – 9/10

SabbirRahman remains the brightest spot for the Bangladesh team in the batting department. Rahman emerged as the top scorer for Bangladesh side in the tournament and the 2nd highest overall in this year’s Asia Cup. He had a promising start against India when he scored 44. A gritty 80 off 54 balls against Sri Lanka was the highlight of his batting display. He made a crucial unbeaten 32 in the finals too. With 176 runs at an average of 44 in 5 matches, Rahman proved to be Bangladesh’s best batsman of the tournament.

Imrul Kayes – 2/10

ImrulKayes was displaced from his usual opening position in this year’s Asia Cup. The attacking batsman got just one game to play, that against India in the first match of the tournament proper. It was a struggling knock for Imrul as he crawled to his score of 14 in 24 balls. He struggled against the pace and spin alike and hence gets a lowly rating of 2 in the rating card.

Mushfiqur Rahim – 4/10

Yet another senior player in the side, Mushfiqur Rahim certainly could have done a lot better job than what he came up with. With just 40 runs in the 5 matches and a top score of mere 16*, Mushfiqur was a disappointing act. His keeping was just about fine and perhaps all the ratings that he is getting here is because of his wicket-keeping. On the batting front, he was a big failure and Bangladesh would hope that he gets back to form before the World T20.

Shakib Al Hasan – 5/10

A lot was expected off Shakib Al Hasan in the Asia Cup, but his performances were far below his standards. He started off poorly with just 3 runs against India. Scores of 13, 32 and 8 followed in the matches against UAE, Sri Lanka and Pakistan for the all-rounder. He was looking good for his 21 in the finals but couldn’t capitalize. His bowling looked good though as he picked up 5 wickets in 5 matches at an average close to 22 with best of 2/20. Shakib gets his marks cut for his poor batting and receives a rating of 5 out of 10.

Mahmudullah – 9/10

Mahmudullah had a slow start to the series but soon got into a hitting groove, finishing off the innings for Bangladesh on quite a few occasions. He hit an unbeaten 36 off 27 balls against the UAE to take Bangladesh to a decent score. Another unbeaten 23 against Sri Lanka made him look good for more. He got even better in the match against Pakistan, hitting 22 off 15 to seal the match for Bangladesh. But his best came in the finals when he hit 33 off just 13 balls. He scored 121 runs in 5 matches at an average of 121 and a strike rate of 165.75. He picked up 4 wickets in the series with a best of 2/5 against the UAE.

Mashrafe Mortaza – 4/10

The Bangladeshi skipper was good with his captaincy skills but failed on the personal front. He picked up 5 wickets in the tournament with a best of 2/12. With 3 ducks to his name in 5 matches, he was nowhere close to his reputation of being a big-hitter and a finisher. Rash shots and poor attempts to slog cost him his wicket on most occasions. Even on the night of the finals, he could have given himself time to settle in but rather got out playing a rash shot.

Nurul Hasan – 2/10

NurulHasan didn’t feature in the first match against India but was picked up to play the next two matches against Sri Lanka and UAE where he scored 2 and 0 respectively. His extremely short stays at the crease were not appreciated by the team management and hence was dropped from the remaining games. NurulHasan could have made more out of the opportunities that he got.

Arafat Sunny – 4/10

Arafat Sunny got just one match to play in the tournament. He played the match against Pakistan. In the low scoring match, he was the most expensive bowlers among the Bangladeshi bowlers though he picked up 2 wickets. He finished up his quota of 4 overs taking 2/35. Can’t complain much about the young kid and hope that he can only get better from here.

Abu Hider – 3/10

Abu Hider played his only match of the tournament in the finals against India. He got just one over to bowl and went for 14 runs. He was unlucky as he was given a field with third man and fine leg being inside the 30-yard circle and Indian batsmen got a couple of lucky edges to get past them. Hider gets 2 on 10.

Taskin Ahmed – 7.5/10

Taskin Ahmed proved to be a containing bowler rather than a wicket-taker for Bangladesh in this edition of the Asia Cup. He went wicketless against India in the first match and then finished with 1/24 against UAE. He went wicketless against Sri Lanka and then was impressive against Pakistan, picking up 1/14 in his 4 overs. In the finals, he got the all-important wicket of Shikha rDhawan but in vain as it came a little too late.

Mustafizur Rahman – 7/10

The bowling sensation from Bangladesh, Mustafizur Rahman, came into the tournament with a big reputation. But he was totally butchered in the first match as he went for 0/40 in his 4 overs against India. He played just 2 more matches after that before getting injured. He picked up 2/13 against UAE and followed it up with 1/19 against Sri Lanka. He was highly economical after the first match. Had he been fit for the remainder of the tournament, the Bangladesh team could have fancied their chances of winning the trophy.

Al-Amin Hossain – 8/10

By and large, Al-Amin Hossain was the most successful bowler for Bangladesh in the Asia Cup. His good figures were disturbed in the finals when MS Dhoni clobbered him for 21 runs to take India to the victory. Earlier in the match, he was exceptional with the ball and had got the early breakthrough of Rohit Sharma. He ended up as the tournament’s second leading wicket taker with 11 wickets in 5 matches, after Amjad Javed’s tally of 12 wickets. He bowled with an average of 12.18 and a best of 3/25. He gets 8 on 10 for his impressive show.

Nasir Hossain – 3/10

Nasir Hossain, the veteran all-rounder, played his only match of the tournament against India in the finals. He didn’t get a chance to bat but was impressive with the ball. He started off well, as he put brakes on the Indian batting by bowling two economical overs. However, he was taken for plenty in his third over which disrupted his bowling figures. Having bowled 3 overs, he went for 22 runs.